Brock Osweiler Says Film Proves He Can Start In NFL

HOUSTON (CBS HOUSTON) – New Cleveland Browns quarterback Brock Osweiler has always maintained an aura of positivity throughout his monumental struggles during the 2016 season as the starter for the Houston Texans.

Osweiler was traded in the offseason to the Browns in a very conventional deal by NFL standards. He was shipped to Cleveland along with a Texans second round pick for a fourth round selection in a glorified salary dump.

There were reports that indicated that the Browns were considering releasing Osweiler after the deal as he was not in their plans at the position and made the deal simply to add to their draft haul that now includes the first two Texans picks in the 2018 draft after the trade that netted Houston Deshaun Watson.

Fast forward to Cleveland OTA’s and Osweiler appears to be in a quarterback battle with Cody Kessler and a second round selection DeShone Kizer. He is content with the opportunity he has since arriving.

As Browns OTAs began this week, Osweiler maintained positive and wanted to ignore the ramifications of his acquisition and is focussed on playing well.

“I don’t really make those decision as far as ‘what I was in the trade’,” Osweiler said when asked if he was a “throw-in” in the trade Wednesday at Browns OTAs. “The facts are I am here, I am playing football, I love being a Cleveland Brown and it has just been just so great to work with Coach Jackson.”

Osweiler was very mum on his time in Houston and did not want to address what was one of the worst seasons for a starting quarterback in NFL history throwing for less than 3000 yards in 15 games with 16 picks and a quarterback rating of 72.2.

After the 2016 season reports began to surface about confrontations between Osweiler and Bill O’Brien during halftime of a week 17 loss to the Titans. There were also some comments from new Texans starter Tom Savage in April that the quarterback room will be “peaceful” in 2017. Osweiler did not want to go into his previous season much at all on Wednesday.

“I’m not going to go into Houston at all, my sole focus is on the Cleveland Browns,” Osweiler said when asked his thoughts on the reports of his friction with teammates in Houston. “I am sure players in Houston if you reached out to them, you can ask them (If I was a good teammate), but my focus is on the Cleveland Browns right now.”

Despite his struggles in 2016 and his unceremonious dumping onto the Browns roster Osweiler remains confident he can still start in the NFL.

“Absolutely,” Osweiler said when asked if he’s capable of being a starting quarterback in the NFL. “I think the proof is in the film the last two years.”

Osweiler hasn’t been named to any particular role, but he enters Browns OTAs with the intent on becoming the Browns starter in 2017.

“My expectation is always to start,” Osweiler said. “If I came out here and told you guys I wanted to be the back-up then I am in the wrong business.” Osweiler continued, “I want to help this football team win games, but I know there’s a lot of work that needs to go into that and ultimately I need to earn that on the practice field.”

Alex Del Barrio covers the Houston Texans for Sportsradio610.com and is the color commentator for the Houston Dynamo. He also hosts “ADB and Murph” with Matt Murphy which can be heard on Saturday afternoons 4-7 pm Follow Alex Del Barrio on Twitter: @alexdelbarrio

Alex Del Barrio

Alex Del Barrio
What I do for SportsRadio 610: I'm a jack-of-all-trades for 610. I report on the Houston area pro teams, anchor sports flashes, write for Sportsradio610.com and host on the weekends and as a fill-in. Wherever they need me to be, I...